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1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to ankle brace devices which are worn to support the ankle joint as a preventive measure or to aid recovery after injury or surgery.
2. Background of Related Art
The present invention relates to ankle brace devices which are placed and secured upon a human""s foot and ankle joint area to support the ankle joint and maintain the ankle joint structures in an appropriate position to enhance healing after injury or surgery or as a preventive measure to minimize injury to a healthy ankle joint.
The use of athletic adhesive tape has long been applied by athletic trainers to provide support to the ankle joint. However, such taping procedures possess certain drawbacks which encouraged prior art attempts to develop a removable and reusable ankle brace in lieu of conventional taping procedures.
There are a multitude of various prior and current available ankle brace designs which are intended to be removably disposed over one""s foot and ankle and fastened in place using a xe2x80x9cboot-likexe2x80x9d or main body portion which includes a lacing arrangement, the well-known xe2x80x9cVelcroxe2x80x9d type arrangement, or other releasable fastening means.
Some of these prior and currently employed brace arrangements also utilize elongate straps to surround portions of the foot and ankle area to attempt to simulate support similar to that provided by conventional taping procedures employed by athletic trainers to provide a measure of stability and support.
Other versions of removable braces employ relatively rigid components vertically disposed adjacent to the inner and outer sides of the ankle joint and held in place in the form of splints. While many of these prior designs provide a degree of support to the ankle joint, there is a need to provide an improved ankle brace which offers greater positive support to the ankle joint structures most often subjected to injury and yet permit the ankle joint to move within the normal range of motion during activity by the user.
The present invention relates generally to joint braces and particularly to an improved brace for the human ankle joint. In accordance with the present invention, an improved ankle brace is provided which incorporates additional advantages compared to the prior art through a new combination of components providing generally enhanced positive support. The present invention is particularly useful to support the anterior talofibular ligament (ATFL) and the calcaneofibular ligament (CFL) in their anatomically correct alignment relative to the leg and foot bones of the ankle.
In general, the brace incorporating a construction in accordance with the present invention combines restricting the degree of displacement of the ankle bones of the wearer in both vertical and horizontal directions. This provides positive support particularly to the ATFL and CFL ligaments by resisting forces applied to the ankle joint which tend to place undue strain upon these ligaments.
It is well-documented that the most common form of ligament injury due to sprains involve the tearing or complete rupture of the anterior talofibular ligament. Less common is the simultaneous similar damage to the CFL in the more severe ankle sprains. In accordance with the present invention, the location and function of the stabilizing straps forming a portion of the ankle brace .provide an improved degree of positive support to the ATFL and restricts anterior displacement of the talus bone under the fibula which occurs when the ATFL becomes torn or completely ruptured.
A further aspect of a more preferred embodiment of the present invention involves the use of two pair of stabilizing straps attached to a main body portion of the brace. The main body portion is adapted to snugly receive a portion of the wearers foot and cover the ankle area of the foot to provide a degree of compression over the ankle joint area. In accordance with the present invention, the first pair of stabilizing straps, each having one end fixed to an opposing side portion of the main body, wrap around the rear of the ankle area above the heel of the wearer""s foot in opposing directions and are releasably fixed to the opposing side. This pair of support straps provide positive support in a horizontal direction.
The second pair of support straps each include an end fixed to a side portion of the main body portion. A free end is wrapped from one side of the ankle joint over the top of the foot, under the sole of the foot and vertically upwardly to be releasably fixed to the same side of the main body portion as its fixed end to provide support in the vertical direction. This second pair of support straps primarily restrict vertical displacement of the tibia and fibula relative to the talus. The combination of the first pair and second pair of support straps, work synergistically to provide increased stability maintaining the ankle joint in an anatomical correct position and yet permit a range of flexure of the ankle within normal limits.
As another aspect of the present invention, the support provided by the two pair of straps described above also provide support for the remaining ligament structures of the ankle joint because the vertical and horizontal stabilization of the ankle joint tends to maintain the normal relationship between the bones which form the joint.
It is another aspect of the present invention to provide an ankle brace of the type described which can be constructed in an efficient manner at reasonable costs relative to prior and current ankle braces available presently and functionally fits either the right or left foot of a wearer.